Method of preparing compresses



x- 14.1945. v J. H. EIMERSON. 2,381,974

METHOD OF PREPARING COMPRESSES Filed Jan 26, 19-.

Patented Aug. 14, 1945 METHOD 'OEVPREPARINIG ooMr rms sns JohnHlEmerson, Cambridge; lldass. A i e Application January 26, 1943, SerialNo. 473,611 I 1 'I'his'invention pertains to a methodof use in thepreparation of hot compresses forith'erapeutic usQ-GInthe treatment ofvarious pathological conditions, especially in the morerecently Ide-vveloped therapy for the alleviation or cur'e'of in-' compresses to thepatients' bodyand continuous- 'ly to replace the compresseswith freshones as those earlier applied cool to an ineffective tempera'ture,"Commonly these compresses are; prepared by' dipping the folded pad ofcloth into boiling water and wringing out the ex'cess'water by theu'seof a clothes wringer, before they are applied. Compresses thus preparedare at a ,reasonably uniform temperature such that they may be handledby the attendant and suchthat they'donot actually burn the-patient whenap-' plied and although the wringer removes water totheiextent that theydo not drip, they do contain the requisite moisture for. effective. use.However such mode ofpreparing compresses is troublesome as'itnecessitates the maintenance in or closely adjacent to the sick room ofheating 'meansfor a vessel-of hot water of sufficie'nt capacity' topermit introduction and removal of the compress pads, a wringer and asupport j for the latter; and the constantpresence of an attendant.

No matter how carefully the work be done, water is always, dripping orspilling 'on the floor, the attendants hands'may be burned in removing"the compresses from the boiling water, and in general the procedure iscrude andarduous and the apparatus employed is cumbersome and 00'-cupies much space.

On the other hand steam sterilizers of the type ing such hotcompressesand -a novelapparatus useful inthe practice of such method. Afurther object is to provide a. method of providing hot compresses suchthat no handlingof the compress is necessary" until it is readyfor"applica-' tion; to provide a methodfsuch that the compress .isdelivered at a substantially uniform predetermined and desirabletemperature and contains the'des'ired degree of moisture.

Otherand further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointedout in the following vlfa'gntile paralysis, it is necessary to apply hotmoist detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawingwherein f Fig. 1 is a side elevation; partly in vertical sectionand withcertain parts broken away,"illustrat-ing one desirableform of apparatusembodying" the invention and by rneansof which the method mayreadily'be' 'performed; and

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the basket which holds the compress padswhile they are being from place'to place; 'The legs 3,4 and '5 areunited and'braced near their lower ends by means of horizontalconnecting'bars I.

On the table 2 there is mounted a cylindrical housing or casing 8preferably comprising an inner cylindrical member 8*? spaced from theouter shell of the casing to provide an insulating space 9 which maycontain'any desired'insulating material either solid or gaseous. Aremovable coverv l0, preferably of insula'ting construction and hav-,ing a handle'll, is designed. to close the upper erably extendingupwardly to a distance'approxi matingone-half-the height of the casingis an elongate tubular'bearing l3 which is rigidly secured to the bottomof the casing) for example by welding. This bearing receives a vertical,ro-

tary shaft M which projects down through an opening in thebottom of thecasing and Whose lower, end is supported upon an adjustable step bearingl5 carried by a bracket I6 depending from the'underside of the'table 2.A pulley I! "is secured to this lower part of the shaft l4 and triocurrent from a suitable'source 25, the our- "rent preferably beingcontrolled by a switch and rheostat 26 capable of supplying current atdifferent intensity to the heating unit 24. Fromthe i? r j same source25, current may be supplied to the motor 2| through a switch 21.

Mounted upon the upper end of the spindle I4 is a basket 28, preferablymade of sheetmaterial, for instance tinned copper or from a mouldedplastic such as synthetic resin. This basket comprises an axiallyarranged sleeve member 29 open at its lower end and of a diameter totelescope over the upper portion of the spindle M. At its upper end thespindle i4 is provided with a driving boss 30 of polygonal shape,preferably rectangular, which is received in a slot 30* defined by theparallel spaced inner edges of a pair of blocks 30' secured at opposite.sides of an aperture in a cross bar 3| extending diametrically acrossthe top of the basket 28. When the driving boss 30 is disposed in theslot 30*, the basket is suspended upon the spindle and is coupled to thspindle of the water employed is contained within the casing 8, there isno danger of spilling or slopping water onto the floor or onto the bed.Thus the apparatus may be used if desired in close proximity to the bedof the patient. Moreover the attendant is not required to lift thecompresses from a body of boiling water so that there is but'stantial'time without appreciable change in temperature or in moisture'content.- Thus the attendant may prepare a supply of compresses at Iinfrequent intervals and use them one by one so as to partake of therotary movement of the.

latter. at its top thus making it easy to introduce corn:- press padsinto the basket and to remove them therefrom. The cylindrical side wall33 of the basket is of perforated material or, if preferred, of a stiffopen mesh woven fabric, whilethe otherwise imperforate bottom wall 34 isprovided with a series of slots 35, preferably disposed generallyradially, each having associated with it a downwardly directed fan blade36. These fan blades are so arranged that when the basket is rotated bythe motor,the blades tend to create an upward draft from the chamber 23into the interior of the basket.

In using this device, the operator places water in the chamber 23, theWater level being kept below the bottom 34 of the basket. The heatinunit -24 is then energized and the water thus raised to the boilingpoint. The compress pads are placed within the basket 28, preferably sothat they contact the side wall 33 of the basket thus approximatingcircular arcs. The cover is then placed on the container and the motoris started, thus rotating the basket at high speed. The spaceimmediately below the bottom of. the basket is filled with steamsubstantially at atmospheric pressure, and this steam is drawn upwardlyinto the basket by the fan blades 36. Due

to the centrifugal action, this steam is rapidly expelled through thecompress pads-and outwardly through the perforations in the wall 33 ofthe basket. Some of this steam is condensed in passing through thecompresses thus supplying moisture to the latter, and some of it maypass completely through the wall of the basket into the spacesurrounding the latter and if not condensed will be recirculated by thefans 36.

Since little pressure is developed within the apparatus, the water boilssubstantially at atmospheric pressure and at a' substantially constanttemperature, and thus as the motor turns at a substantially constantspeed, the heat imparted to the compresses is substantially uniform.Likewise under these uniform temperature and pressure conditions, theamount of moisture taken up by the compresses will be substantiallyuniform. When the operation has continued for a sufficient length oftime, which experiment has shown to be of the order of one minute, themotor maybe stopped, the cover l removed and the hot compresses may thenbe lifted from the basket [or direct application to the patient. Whilethese compresses are properly moistened they do not drip when liftedfrom the basket and since all Except for the bar 3|, the basket is openas required and Without necessarily operating the apparatus each time acompress is called for.

, While the apparatus and method have herein been particularly describedWith reference to the preparation of hot compresses at a moderatetemperature, it is obviously possible, if desired, to produce very hotcompresses by so modifying the container 8 as to permit the developmentof high pressure steam or vapor therein. Likewise, cold compresses maybe produced by creating in chamber 23 a refrigerant atmosphere (at belowatmospheric pressure if desired) comprising for ex ample water vaporand/or gas.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention is here illustrated byway of example it is to be understood that the inventionis notnecessarily limited to this precise arrangement but is to be regarded asbroadly inclusive of any and all equivalent-constructions such as fallwithin the terms of the appended claims.

1. Method of preparingv compresses for therapeutic use .which'comprises-as steps providing moist vapor at substantially atmosphericpressure revolving a compress pad in a circular path, and concomitantlycentrifugally expelling said noist vapor radially out through the padthereby to impart to the pad a substantially uniform predeterminedtemperature and moisture content.

2. Method of preparing hotcompresses for therapeutic use which comprisesas steps providing saturated steam at substantially atmosphericpressure, and centrifugally forcing said steam through'a compress padthereby simultaneously to heat and moisten the compress.

3. Method of preparing hot compresses for therapeutic use whichcomprises as step's disposing the compress pad in, a rotary container,rotating thecontainer, providing saturated steam at substantiallyatmospheric pressure and centrifugally projecting said steam throughthecompress in a direction substantially radial with respect to the axisofrotation of the container thereby simultaneously to heat and moisten it.

4., Method -of preparing hot compresses for therapeutic use whichcomprises as steps rapidly revolving the compress in a circular path, soheat- ,ing a body of water to boiling point as to provide steam atsubstantially atmospheric pressure, admitting the steam to the center ofsaid circular path, and expelling the steam centrifugally through thecompress from its inner to its outer sides, thereby simultaneously toheat and moisten the compress.

JOHN H. EMERSON.

